It's until when they decide to interview that you get to know you're being investigated. This interview is documented and used against you in Court. If not invited for an interview, you get to know you've been investigated when the CDPP issues a charge of Obtaining a Financial Advantage for you.
You may be asked to attend an interview
If these investigations show that what you have told Centrelink about your income or family situation do not match up with your bank account details, your tax returns or other information, they may ask you to attend a Centrelink office for a voluntary interview.
Australia's immigration department will tell us when you leave. They will also tell us when you return. To get your payment or concession card while outside Australia, you must continue to meet the qualification rules at all times.
Centrelink will investigate if they suspect you have received unentitled payments. Once Centrelink decide to investigate, Centrelink can require your bank or employer to disclose your financial details relevant to Centrelink purposes. This process can take week to months.
Bank interest reviews. We check your bank account information is up to date. We do this to check we paid you the right payment and amount in the past.
Typically, Centrelink will send you a letter every six months or so with their understanding of your assets and income clearly listed. If your current financial reality doesn't match Centrelink's understanding of it, it's your responsibility to correct your details.
You can request a Statement of Debt for any 5 year period going back to 1998. You can make more than one request.
If not invited for an interview, you get to know you've been investigated when the CDPP issues a charge of Obtaining a Financial Advantage for you.
We may select you at random to review your payment details. We may review your and your partner's details if you get one of the following payments: ABSTUDY. Age Pension.
Centrelink payments are not available while in prison. Prisoners may be eligible for a Centrelink Crisis Payment on release.
Payments while overseas
If your payments can continue while you're outside Australia and you intend to be away for: less than 12 months, we'll continue to pay you every 2 weeks into your Australian bank account. more than 12 months, we'll pay you every 4 weeks into your Australian or overseas bank account.
You may get Age Pension for the whole time you're outside Australia. Even if you're leaving to live in another country. Your payment may stop if all of the following apply.
If you have defrauded Centrelink, you may be charged under section 134.2 – obtaining a financial advantage by deception. If you are found guilty, the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment. You may instead, or also, receive a fine between $10,000 and $100,000 and be made to repay the benefit to Centrelink.
If you lie to Centrelink about your circumstances, you may receive benefits that you would otherwise not be entitled to. Courts view Centrelink fraud very seriously and if found guilty you could face a sentence of imprisonment and will be required to repay the debt to Centrelink.
“Centrelink has contracted optical surveillance services from 21 investigation agencies across Australia, to help them collect evidence of people suspected of serious welfare fraud,” Mr Anthony said.
Centrelink is using controversial high-tech phone-breaking devices to reveal secrets hidden by suspected fraudsters in their smart phones. The agency says it uses the technology in strict accordance with the law and only when it has obtained a warrant when investigating cases of serious fraud.
Centrelink may agree to contact your previous employer to check your details. It's also ok for your previous employer to include the information Centrelink needs in a letter on company letterhead instead of on the separation certificate form.
If you don't report income regularly, you need to tell us about any income you're paid within 14 days of being paid. If you report income regularly, you need to submit your report on or after your reporting date so we can assess you for your regular payment.
If you don't report and you're meant to, we won't pay you. You can report online up to 13 days after your reporting date. If you're more than 13 days late, you need to call us on your regular payment line.
We may notice you've been overpaid after you tell us of a change or complete a review. Once we know you've been overpaid, we check if you have a debt that you need to repay. You may not need to repay money if: we can offset the overpayment by deducting it from your next payment.
You must tell us within 14 days of any income you have been paid. We will use this information to calculate your correct rate of payment. 1 You must declare all gross employment income paid in the last 14 days up to and including your reporting day. 2 You must declare your gross employment income.
The information collected is being used to catch those cheating the system, but if you still aren't comfortable with a DHS employee snooping through your social media account, you'll need to update your social media settings. Without a doubt, the easiest social media website for Centrelink to monitor is Facebook.
If you get a Centrelink payment, you may be able to get a savings account that won't charge fees.